Wilson Dippo of 2012 sent in this post about the recent reunion of two of the ski team's closest friends. He gives some insight into the life of a pro-skier from the outside:
I just spent a week in the Truckee area with pro-skiers
Spencer Eusden (Bowdoin ’12) and Beth Taylor (Bates (blows) ’12). Spencer
thought that I was coming to visit so that we could reminisce about the good
times at Bowdoin, maybe drink a beer or two, and have a generally jolly time.
He was, however, gravely mistaken. My actual plan was to experience their lives
for a couple days, and write this exposé about the life of a pro-skier.
Don’t worry – post college I hate reading too, so here is
a photo that should clarify any questions that you have about pro-skiing.
The quick version:
A Slightly More
Texty Version.
Plain and simple Spencer is a pro and I am still way
better than him (just ask the shirt). Some things that, despite calling himself
a professional, Spencer still doesn’t understand:
1)
Sure you can do 4 X 12
minutes at threshold – well if I do 12-8-12 at lv 4 I am getting a better
workout. (36 minutes lv 3 verse 32 minutes at lv 4 – doesn’t take a math minor
to figure that one out).
2)
Sleep is an essential part
of any good training plan. Spencer seems to think that waking up at 7 to get in
a 2.5 hr rollerski is a better use of his time than sleeping in until 10:30.
3)
Rollerskiing is hard and
stupid.
Sure he beat me by something like 40% in an uphill
time-trial. But come on, it’s only a time trial… on foot… uphill. No one can
prove that means anything.
Spending even just a few days in
Truckee was fantastic. Any skier – past, present, or future – should be envious
of what Spencer is doing right now. He is getting after it, and doing it in
style. When I first walked into his house Beth yelled down from her upstairs
loft, “Spencer………… will you make us pancakes?” A typical day for me this past week involved
waking up early as Spencer headed out for his first workout, and promptly
falling back asleep. Somewhere between 2 and 3 hours later I would wake for a
second time when he returned. Our mornings and early afternoons were filled
with vigorous activities such as lounging on the docks at Donner Lake, napping,
reading, watching Southpark, and eating at Tacos Jaliscos[i].
As the afternoon approached we would dress in brightly colored tanks, short
shorts, and running shoes and head off into the mountains. In the week that I
spent in Truckee I put in eight hours and fifteen minutes of training which
effectively doubled my volume for the training year (also… I skipped both
strength sessions, and 2.5 hour rollerski, and a bikeride).
Spencer and Wilson head out to
an afternoon workout. Spencer may or may not run with a helmet these days.
Spencer demonstrating how to
properly crush chocolate milk as a recovery drink
PS Spencer is going to crush
face this winter – I’m calling it now.
[i] In
all seriousness, if you care about Spencer you have two options. A) buy him
credit toward Tacos Jaliscos so he doesn’t go broke. Or B) hold an intervention
as approximately 82% of his diet consists of tortillas, cheese, beans, rice,
and beef tongue all from Tacos Jaliscos. I am afraid that he may actually
become a taco.
No comments:
Post a Comment